2, Scripture Readings – Summaries of the readings of each Sunday Mass (by Chris Oliver)

Sir/Eccle’us 35:12-14,16-19 Ps 32(33) 2 Tim 4:6-8,16-18 Lk 18:9-14

Sirach was a Jerusalem sage writing about 180 BC. His wise maxims are much used by the Church. God does not approve “the gifts of the godless, nor for their many sacrifices does he forgive their sins”. God is just, “he hears the cry of the oppressed”. God’s justice will be seen, he will wreak “vengeance upon the proud”.
Paul tells Timothy to expect a time to come “when people will not tolerate sound doctrine” “and will stop listening to the truth”. In every age Christians have experienced this happening, and church structures set up by Paul to “preserve the truth” have naturally tended to be conservative. Paul is facing death alone. But God has not deserted him, and even enabled him to speak out at his trial, sending the gospel message to yet more Gentiles, even at this late hour.
In Luke’s gospel Jesus continues his teachings on prayer. After last week’s parable about the persistent widow comes this strong condemnation of insincere prayer. We should not imagine that the Pharisee was bad: he is a good man, conscientiously observing his religion. Yet Jesus says the tax collector went home justified “rather than” the Pharisee. Not “more than”! Why? Because the tax collector was humble enough to admit his need of God and of his mercy.

Psalm Response: This poor man called; the Lord heard him.

2 Kgs 5:14-17 Ps 97 2 Tim 2:8-13 Lk 17:11-19

Naaman, a leper, commanded an Aramaen army which was victorious over Israel. A little Israeli girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife, said the prophet in Samaria could cure Naaman’s leprosy. Elisha told Naaman to bathe seven times in the Jordan. Initially Naaman refuses to do something so humble, but he is persuaded by his servant and he is cured. When Elisha refuses any reward, Naaman takes some soil back home so that he may continue to worship only the God of Israel.
Paul urges Timothy to pass on the gospel he has received, summed up in only 6 Greek words: Jesus, the Christ, anointed by God; descended from David, risen from the dead. Thus pointing to our bodily resurrection. In what sounds like a hymn from a very early baptismal liturgy we are told that “if we persevere we shall reign with him”. Not just be with Christ, but joining him in his work of caring for the renewed creation.
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus is coming closer to Jerusalem, and his death, while revealing more about his kingdom. Last week Jesus told his disciples to serve without expecting thanks. Now ten lepers are healed, like Naaman, through simple actions. Only the non-Jew returns to thank him.

Psalm Response: The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.

Hab 1:2-3,2:2-4 Ps 94 2 Tim 1:6-8,13-14 Lk 17:5-10

Habbakuk appears to have prophesied while Judah was being threatened by Babylon, who destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC. Habbakuk expresses the ever-present frustration of mankind that evil people always seem to triumph. Since God is good and just, why doesn’t He intervene to help those who worship Him? Instead of punishing his erring people by a nation even more wicked? God’s answer here is that “the upright man will live by his faithfulness”. So Habbakuk agrees to “quietly wait” for the invaders to be punished. The Psalm’s message is also not to lose faith in God.
In the first of four readings from Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he is urged to “bear the hardships” relying on God’s power, using and developing his skills to testify to the good news. You should “guard the rich truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us” ie the truth about Jesus, who “has abolished death”.
In Luke’s Gospel Jesus continues to teach, as he makes his way to Jerusalem. We must have confidence in God’s plan, and carry out fully the tasks God has given us. But we must not expect God to put this world to rights in our lifetime.

Psalm Response: O that today you would listen to his voice! “Harden not your hearts”.

(Hab 1:2-3,2:2-4 Ps 94 2 Tim 1:6-8,13-14 Lk 17:5-10)

Amos 8:4-7 Ps 112:1-8 1 Tim 2:1-8 Lk 16:1-13

Amos was a shepherd from Judah who around 760 BC prophesied doom to the northern kingdom Israel, largely because of its social injustice. Israel under Jeroboam was very prosperous, but when it was overrun by Assyria 40 years later the prophet’s warnings were remembered. Natural disasters should have reminded them of their dependence on God. It was not just the ways the rich cheated the poor – inflating the currency and giving short measure. Worse was their belief that sacrifices and fasting would absolve them from God’s blame: sacrifice without justice is meaningless. The Psalm gives hope that the poor will be raised up.
In our modern liturgies we follow all of Paul’s advice to Timothy: we lift up our hands in the traditional manner to offer prayers of petition, intercession and thanks, and we pray for secular authorities – “so that we may live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet”. And Paul tells us not to be attracted to false gods like riches or possessions: there is only one God, and Christ Jesus, our one High Priest, is the only mediator between us and God.
In the Gospel Jesus also warns us not to be seduced into worshipping money. He still describes the steward as “dishonest”, but his motive was right: to gain friends who would help him later.

Psalm Response: Praise the Lord, who raises the poor.

Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 Ps 50:3-19 Tim 1:12-17 Lk 15: 1-32

Earlier in the Book of Exodus God had given Moses the Ten Commandments and many other instructions, which the people had covenanted to obey, sealed by sprinkling sacrificial blood. During Moses’ second ascent of Sinai God wrote the Commandments on stone tablets. Meanwhile the people were already disobeying the first Commandment by worshipping a golden calf. No wonder God was angry – Moses pleaded with God not to let the Egyptians win after all. God relented – but Moses then angrily broke the tablets and God had to write them again later!
Over the next 7 weeks we hear from the letters to Timothy – attributed to Paul though probably written long after his death. Paul is given as a supreme example of God’s mercy, followed by detailed instructions for organising the developing Christian communities. Several words were used for church leaders at that time. ‘Deacons’ appear to have ministered pastorally, with ‘presbyter-bishops’ perhaps having both pastoral and practical responsibilities. The Greek episcopi means ‘overseer’ or ‘overlooker’. ‘Presbyter’ simply means ‘elder’. Later a three tier structure developed: Deacons, Presbyters, Bishops.
In the Gospel Jesus also shows how communities are to be managed: do not allow any members to be lost – the father runs to welcome back his prodigal son. Perhaps the most moving image we have of God.

Psalm Response: I will leave this place and go to my Father.

Wisdom 9:13-18 Ps 89:3-17 Phlm 9-10, 12-17 Lk 14:25-33

The Book of Wisdom was written in 1st century BC. Greek and other pagan religions gave inadequate answers to life’s questions, especially why the wicked prosper and the just suffer. How does God mete out justice? Wisdom’s solution, distilled from all Jewish Scriptures, is that the just continue to live with God after their deaths: a developing Jewish belief in resurrection, though not of the body. Man’s knowledge and powers of reasoning are inadequate compared with God’s Wisdom. So we ask God to give us Wisdom for our guide. The psalm also asks that we “know the shortness of our life that we may gain wisdom of heart”.
In this moving letter Paul asks Philemon to accept back the slave Onesimus and forgive him. But Paul is pleading for something more than this. Onesimus means “profit”, and Paul wants Philemon to see the “profit” of forgiving Onesimus out of Christian love, and not because Paul could “force this act of kindness”. In this way Philemon can gain wisdom and spiritual benefit.
In Luke’s gospel, after a parable about people giving “I am too busy with this life” excuses, Jesus insists we must “hate” our parents: not emotionally but in our actions. We must weigh our options carefully and either choose the Cross – or not.

Psalm Response: O Lord, you have been our refuge from one generation to the next.

(Wisdom 9:13-18 Ps 89:3-17 Phlm 9-10, 12-17 Lk 14:25-33)

Sir 3:17-20, 28-29 Ps 67:4-11 Heb 12:18-19, 22-24 Lk 14:1, 7-14

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Part of Wisdom literature, the Book of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus, was written by Ben Sira about 200 BC. Full of traditional Jewish and worldly wisdom and morals, it is based on deep experience. After describing our duties towards God, the book turns to our duties towards our parents. This extract emphasises the need for humility in face of God’s greatness – echoed by the Psalm – and the wisdom that comes from listening carefully. The omitted verses advise us not to seek what is beyond our power nor tasks beyond what has been assigned to us.
Having described our disciplining by God last Sunday, our final reading from Hebrews describes the exciting delights of the heavenly city we have now entered, after our baptism. Instead of fearsome Sinai, Zion – the new “Temple Mount” where God resides – is full of angels in tumultuous joyful festival, with believers and saints made perfect being welcomed by Jesus and our God. What a welcome! But God is still judge: as we have been given the privilege of Jesus as covenant-mediator, we have the responsibility of offering thanksgiving to God
In Luke’s gospel we hear about Jesus having dinner with a Pharisee. Two parables illustrate the themes from the first reading of humility and not giving ourselves airs.

Psalm Response: In your goodness, O God, you prepared a home for the poor

Is 66:18-21 Ps 116 Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 Lk 13:22-30

After lamenting the disasters God has sent on the Israelites because of their sins, third Isaiah sees hope in God’s renewal of his covenant promise and in the “new heavens and the new earth” which God is creating. Jerusalem will prosper and all nations will be invited to God’s holy mountain Jerusalem. God’s glory will be seen by all, and all nations will worship him.
Our readings from Hebrews quotes from the Book of Proverbs that a son should expect to be disciplined by his Father. So we should not be discouraged when God disciplines us: rather we should rejoice that God shows in this way that we are his beloved sons. We must endure our sufferings, turning away from sin and accepting the works God calls us to do. As God’s sons, we must persevere, not giving up too easily or treating God’s forgiveness as easily obtained “next time”.
Chapter 13 of Luke’s gospel emphasises the need to repent, to change our mind-set about God. After Jesus healed a crippled woman on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler was outraged to be told his understanding of the Sabbath was hypocrisy. But we also have great difficulty in accepting God’s ways. Today’s reading insists that the entrance to the kingdom is narrow, and many will not enter.

Psalm Response: Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Good News.

(Is 66:18-21 Ps 116 Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 Lk 13:22-30)

Rev 11:19; 12:1-6,10; Ps 44:10-16; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:39-56

These tumultuous chapters of Revelation, certain of Christ’s ultimate victory, imagine how the mystery of God’s plan of salvation will be fulfilled in the “end days”. After the seventh angel blows his trumpet the world will become the kingdom of God and his Christ. Those who are destroying the earth will be destroyed. But first the Christ (Messiah) is to be born from Israel, before the dragon is hurled from heaven, making war on the Church. Early Christians came to see in these words a fitting description of Mary’s role in salvation. Those who share Jesus’ death on earth will also share his glory in heaven – and are already sharing in the resurrection triumph.
The Psalm from a Royal Wedding Song also assures us of Christ’s final victory. And Paul reminds the Corinthians how this victory has been won: by Christ’s death. His raising from the dead is a “first fruit” of what is to come: the bodily resurrection of all the dead, when Christ does away with all his enemies, including the last enemy, which is death.
Mary’s joyful Magnificat, which is said or sung every evening in the Church throughout the world, summarises salvation history and anticipates her Son’s fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets in his proclamation of the Beatitudes.

Psalm Response: On your right stands the queen, in garments of gold.

(Rev 11:19; 12:1-6,10; Ps 44:10-16; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:39-56)

Scripture Readings 14th August 2016, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Writing during the turbulence just before the exile, Jeremiah was caught between the king, Zedekiah, and jealous nobles, who falsely imprisoned him. In 586 BC Judea again revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Jeremiah told the king he should surrender because Judea would be defeated anyway, as God’s punishment for their infidelity, and resistance would lead to Jerusalem’s destruction. But the nobles said Jeremiah’s advice was undermining morale and threw him into a cistern. Jerusalem did not surrender, and was destroyed, and most survivors were deported to Babylon.
Last week we heard part of the discussion in Hebrews about the meaning of faith, “the conviction of things not seen”, giving the example of Abraham. After further examples, Hebrews says yet all these “did not receive what was promised, since God had foreseen something better”. With so many witnesses confident of this unknown reward, we must persevere in our faith. We must endure like Jesus, who suffered so much to bring our faith to perfection.
The themes of turbulence and suffering are continued in today’s reading from Luke’s gospel, which follows the insistence last week that unfaithful servants will be punished. Jesus’ message brings division between believers and non-believers, whose evil deeds are thrown into relief by the gospel.

Psalm Response: Lord, come to my aid.

(Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 Ps 39:2-4,18 Heb 12:1-4 Lk 12:49-53)

Wis 18:6-9 Ps 32:1-22 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 Lk 12:32-48)

The Wisdom of Solomon was the last book of the Old Testament to be written. It was written in Greek, not Hebrew, so not in the Septuagint nor therefore in the Protestant Bible. The final chapters meditate on the Exodus, contrasting the woes visited on the Egyptians with the gifts given by God to the Israelites. This excerpt notes the opposite effects on the Egyptians and Israelites of God’s actions at the first Passover, and the Psalm echoes the joy of a people chosen by God.
The 2nd readings in August from Hebrews describe faith, which gives assurance to our hopes. Abraham is the prime example of a man of faith: he obeyed God’s command to go to a new land; he believed God’s promise that he and Sarah would have a child in their old age; and he passed the supreme test of faith when God asked him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. God’s last minute reprieve for Isaac is seen as a return from the dead.
In Luke’s Gospel, following the parable we heard last week about the rich man building a bigger barn, Jesus assures us that we will be given all the resources we need to meet the Lord’s demands. He then urges us to have faith and to be prepared.

Psalm Response: Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

(Wis 18:6-9 Ps 32:1-22 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 Lk 12:32-48)